In many professions there is the need to make oral presentations within defined time limits. For example, an attorney is often required to present an opening argument or a closing argument, or other type of argument, wherein a specific amount of time is allotted for the argument. Another example might be a scientist, engineer or other professional who is presenting a paper to an audience within a specific time frame. A third example is a formal interview presentation given by an individual or group of individuals, wherein information is presented in a formal setting to a body that will be selecting a firm or individuals to perform work.
In each of these situations time constraints may be critical, if not mandatory. Further, it is often desirable to divide a presentation into segments, such as an opening, body, and closing, to provide for a question and answer period, to reserve time for future use, or to divide the presentation time among a plurality of presenters.
Typically, in these presentation settings, the individual or individuals making a presentation are preoccupied with the specific information included in the presentation and can easily loose track of time. In presentations involving several presenters, one presenter exceeding the time limits can greatly affect the portions to be presented by the other presenters, and the quality of the overall presentation.
Prior art timing devices are typically involve a distracting and disruptive audible or visual alarm, or are limited to a single alarm point. Further, prior art timing devices typically require imprecise manual synchronization if they are to used by multiple presenters.